Film director Roman
Polanski: Is he an escapee from justice,
or has he paid his debt to society?
24 Heures, Switzerland
Polanski's Release:
A Decision of 'Clarity and Remarkable Logic'
"In
retrospect, the long process and duel demonstration of independence - first
with the arrest and now the non-extradition - confers a welcomed legitimacy. It
also helps reaffirm, by virtue of the principle of good faith, the primacy
given the accused when doubt remains. … Ethics have been preserved, and with them
the honor of Switzerland."
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss justice minister and member of that country's Executive, the Federal Council: After deciding to detain Roman Polanski last year, she has now decided to release him, after California legal authorities refused to hand over key documents in the case.
Independence, respect for the
law, and consistency. Just over nine months after Roman Polanski's controversial
arrest at the airport in Zurich, Switzerland has delivered a decision of clarity and remarkable logic.
Looking very comfortable explaining
the issue, we must thank the Federal Department of Justice and Police and its chief,
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, for having managed to get the most out of a position that
from the beginning was based on a strict legal interpretation.
One need not have the memory of
an elephant to recall the tumbrelof insults hurled by the French-speaking cultural world, which is dismayed
by anyone with the temerity to infringe on an icon. Between the hammer of
American justice and the anvil of French criticism, Switzerland had been put in
an awkward position.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In retrospect, the long
process and duel demonstration of independence - first with the arrest and now the
non-extradition - confers a welcomed legitimacy. It also helps reaffirm, by
virtue of the principle of good faith, the primacy given the accused when doubt
remains. And here, without judging the merits of a case dating back 33 years, Switzerland
has not been granted clarifications that were sought from the United States.
Therefore in this case, one
cannot speak of class justice. Here the opposite is true: Roman Polanski
endured his confinement without concessions impermissible under the bond he posted,
and he now benefits from the same rigorous application of the law. Ethics have
been preserved, and with them the honor of Switzerland.
